579 - 587

Chapter 579 - Defeat!

Lieutenant General Qi Yaoyang, the Sky God of the Federation. His mecha was a close-combat mecha and he was the strongest close-combat operator of the Federation. 20 years in the frontline of the battlefield, he was never defeated before.

To their enemies, Qi Yaoyang was known as BUG Yang. No matter what method they used, they were unable to win against him. Hence, the country border which Qi Yaoyang guarded was regarded as impregnable.

However, this was not what alarmed Senior Colonel Mi the most. He was surprised because Sky God was in the 3rd Division which was under the Third Marshal while General Ling Xiao was under the First Marshal. The Third Marshal and First Marshal were not on good terms with each other so the people under them were not close too.

If Ling Lan's opponent was really Qi Yaoyang, did that mean that he was actually a spy from the First Marshal?

Senior Colonel Mi shivered uncontrollably. He felt that he just uncovered a huge secret. He swallowed and then muttered to himself, "I don't know anything. I don't know anything…"

Senior Colonel Mi was too shocked to think about why Ling Lan's N-point Blockade exploded so Ling Lan managed to escape a round of questioning for now.

Ling Lan was someone who hid her true abilities well. Hence, she disguised her attacks too. In actual fact, the technique she used just now was not the N-point Blockade. It was a [S] rank technique known as the Consecutive Explosive Shooting. The bullet path for this technique was supposed to be straight but Ling Lan felt that this made the attack too obvious. The opponent would be able to see the attack and defend against it. This technique was also hard to master. If she spent so much time practicing a technique that didn't work, she would be wasting her time.

Hence, she experimented with Little Four in the learning space and realized that the Consecutive Explosive Shooting could be combined with the N-point Blockade. They fine-tuned the attack and managed to shoot 6 consecutive shots. Ling Lan was unable to make the 7th shot. If she could, the Consecutive Explosive Shooting would have a stronger impact.

Ling Lan was not afraid of people questioning her technique. She had decided that if someone asked her about it, she would just say that her father taught her. Her father was a god-class mecha master, the only god-class mecha master that operated a balanced mecha. He could handle both short-range and long-range attacks.

Actually, Ling Lan wanted to create trouble for her father just like how he made things difficult for her. But, she would not tell anyone that.

In spite of her excellent operation, Ling Lan's long-range combat skills ended here. Qi Yaoyang no longer gave her any chances to use her long-range skills. He twisted his mecha again and appeared in front of Ling Lan in the next second. It was a sudden but expected move.

Ling Lan reacted quickly and swept the beam gun towards Qi Yaoyang. Qi Yaoyang raised his sword slightly and blocked Ling Lan's attack easily.

The friction from the two metal objects created sparks. In the dark universe, these sparks were extra striking.

"Clang." The gun was slashed into two by the giant sword. This meant that Ling Lan had no long-range weapons anymore. She was only left with one choice: close-combat.

Ling Lan threw the broken beam gun at her opponent and grabbed her sword when her opponent was dodging the gun.

Ling Lan was unaffected by the fact that she couldn't use her long-range attacks anymore. As compared to long-range attacks, she preferred close combat. Also, she had gotten the data Little Four and her wanted so she had nothing to worry about now.

At the start, Ling Lan chose this balanced mecha because she wanted to get data for her new long-range attacks. This would allow her to understand what her flaws were and make the necessary changes. Techniques that had not been tested in a real battle were not proper techniques. In order to become a real ultimate sure-kill technique, it had to be revised and tested multiple times.

It had to be said that Ling Lan was a bold person. In such an important time, she didn't forget to test out her shooting techniques.

After she finished her task, Ling Lan focused all of her attention on close combat.

The two mechas in the air started attacking each other vigorously.

Bang… sparks flew in the air as the two huge swords hit each other. Only the lingering shadows of the two mechas could be seen. They seemed to have merged with each other.

Suddenly, they each flew away. In that instant, they managed to hit each other.

The two mechas stabilized themselves. Qi Yaoyang shouted excitedly, "Good attack. Let's continue!" Qi Yaoyang added 10 points for Ling Lan again. Both Ling Lan's long-range and short-distance skills were amazing. She was just like her father, a perfect mecha master that had no weakness.

"Sure. I was thinking about that too!" The two of them didn't care about the assessment anymore. They just wanted to fight with each other.

Senior Colonel Mi shook his head as he looked at the two crazy people fighting against each other.

By now, he was certain that Ling Lan's opponent was Qi Yaoyang. Only Qi Yaoyang could execute such crazy attacks. His style was too unique so it was easy to recognize him. Senior Colonel Mi didn't expect the calm and composed Ling Lan to be so vicious in a close-combat. Her style didn't resemble like General Ling Xiao at all. Her style leaned more towards Qi Yaoyang.

Senior Colonel Mi then recalled the gentle presence that the general had and was enlightened. The general might not be who he seemed to be.

Ling Lan's experience in mecha combat was still lesser as compared to Qi Yaoyang. In the end, Qi Yaoyang managed to make use of a small flaw that appeared on Ling Lan's end and knocked her sword away.

"It had ended!" Qi Yaoyang stabbed into Ling Lan's cockpit.

"It had ended!" Ling Lan smiled. She returned to the atrium in the combat hall instantly after she was hit.

Qi Yaoyang appeared the next second. He looked at Ling Lan with a complicated expression. After a few moments of silence, he asked, "Did you purposely show me that flaw?"

Ling Lan replied innocently, "What? Why would I purposely lose to you?"

He didn't? Then why was his reaction so calm? He seemed to have calculated all his moves. Qi Yaoyang recalled how Ling Lan's mecha's right hand suddenly turned after he stabbed his cockpit and a thin sword appeared in the hand. The sword silently pierced into his cockpit.

The mainframe announced that he attacked him first so his attack was invalid. If it was a real battle, he might be the one that lost.

Chapter 580 - The Second Mission!

Although the mainframe announced him the winner, Qi Yaoyang felt that he lost. In an actual battlefield, he would have died together with Ling Lan and she was still just a recruit. Qi Yaoyang felt devastated. For the first time, he felt that he was getting old.

Ling Lan was too composed. Her expression was cold and indifferent. Qi Yaoyang couldn't get an answer from her so he could only accept what she said.

He was suspicious of Ling Lan's actions but that didn't prevent him from being extremely satisfied with her. Her close-combat and long-range attacks were near perfect. She managed to force him into a dire situation using her long-range attacks and displayed intelligence in the close-combat. Even after the battle, she was still humble.

Qi Yaoyang acknowledged Ling Lan. He felt at ease for his little son. He smiled and said, "Ling Lan, I will leave my son in your care now."

"Huh?" Ling Lan was stunned. Wasn't she just doing a mission? Why did she become a nanny suddenly? Who was his son?

Qi Yaoyang laughed when he saw a change in expression on her cold face. He didn't explain himself and just disappeared in front of her. He had left the virtual world.

"Boss, are you going to take care of a baby?" Little Four could finally speak. He was worried that he would disturb Ling Lan so he forced himself to stay quiet during the battle.

Ling Lan rubbed her eyebrows in frustration. She didn't have the time to think just now because everything happened suddenly. Now that she calmed down, she felt that her examiner looked familiar. She was sure that she had never seen her examiner before so it might be because one of her team members looked like the examiner. If that was the case, what the examiner said in the end made sense.

At this moment, Senior Colonel Mi regained his senses and left the spectator stand. He saw Ling Lan in deep thought in the atrium and walked over hurriedly. "Ling Lan!"

He didn't see the person that he wanted to see so he asked her, "Did your opponent come and find you?" Her opponent would have told her whether she passed or not.

Ling Lan didn't reply to him. Instead, she asked, "Is my opponent Lieutenant General Qi Yaoyang?"

Senior Colonel Mi's eyes lit up. "You found out too?"

"As expected." No wonder he said that sentence to her. Seemed like Qi Yaoyang was jealous because Qi Long wanted to follow her.

Ling Lan understood Qi Yaoyang's feelings. If she told her father that she wanted to go to the 3rd Division… she didn't dare to imagine what would happen. Whatever it was, there was no good outcome. If she compared it this way, Qi Long's father was extremely good-tempered. Ling Lan gave Qi Yaoyang a thumbs up in her mind.

Ling Lan didn't know that Qi Long was almost beaten to death by his father when he said that he wanted to follow her. However, this proved that Ling Lan was right about Qi Long. He was a strong-willed person. Even his father couldn't do anything about his stubbornness and let him have his way in the end.

"Did you see Lieutenant General Qi Yaoyang?" Senior Colonel Mi repeated his question when he noticed that Ling Lan didn't reply to him.

"Yes," Ling Lan replied.

"Did he say anything?" Senior Colonel Mi asked.

"He said…" That his son will be under my care? Ling Lan looked at Senior Colonel Mi with a puzzled expression. Senior Colonel Mi was not someone who would like to gossip. Why was he so interested in such gossip suddenly?

"Did you pass?" Senior Colonel Mi was speechless. Was Ling Lan not worried about this?

"I lost, right?" Ling Lan shrugged. The moment she left the battle, she knew that she lost. However, she was not depressed. Losing meant that she was not strong enough. This was why her father asked Lieutenant General Qi Yaoyang to be her opponent. He wanted her to understand her own strength.

Ever since Ling Lan became an imperial operator, she started becoming arrogant. She felt that she could only be defeated by real imperial operators. However, Qi Yaoyang defeated her today. It reminded her that within the Federation, there might be many people like Qi Yaoyang. She was not as strong as she thought she was. She needed to work harder.

As expected, her parents understood her well. Her father must have noticed her arrogance long ago so he used this method to remind her that she didn't have the right to be so proud yet. She needed to work harder.

Senior Colonel Mi heard Ling Lan's reply and knew that she misunderstood the rules. He smiled and said, "Did you think that passing or failing the mission is dependant on whether you win or lose?

So it is not! Ling Lan's eyes lit up. Even though she was not depressed by her loss, she would be happier if she could continue her missions.

Senior Colonel Mi nodded his head seriously. Ling Lan was elated. She recalled what Qi Yaoyang said to her and knew that he was trying to tell her that she passed.

She was so stupid! Ling Lan knocked her head angrily. She had become more reliant on other people since she started living with her parents. She was not as sharp and vigilant as before. In the past, she would have noticed such an obvious hint long ago. However, today, she needed Senior Colonel Mi to remind her before she understood it.

It was the right decision to leave her parents. She would grow faster without Ling Xiao's protection.

Ling Lan believed that Ling Xiao would be able to protect her and Lan Luofeng. But, she felt safer if she had the ability to protect herself. The culprit that harmed Ling Xiao last time was still hiding among the leaders in the military. Ling Xiao only managed to dig out a few unimportant people after years of investigation. The mastermind was not found yet. A sense of danger enveloped the Ling family. No one knew when the mastermind would strike again.

"You have found the answer." Senior Colonel Mi smiled at Ling Lan's frustration. He guessed that she had passed since her expression was relaxed just now.

At this moment, Senior Colonel Mi's communicator rang. He answered it and his expression changed. He looked at Ling Lan with pity in his eyes. Ling Lan's heart dropped. Did she make a wrong conclusion? Did she fail the first mission?

Senior Colonel Mi didn't have the time to answer her queries. He signaled for Ling Lan to follow him as he sent out messages on his communicator.

Very soon, Senior Colonel Mi brought Ling Lan to the team battle arena. He told her in a serious tone, "The second mission is a team mission. You will lead a team of six mecha operators and fight against another team in the same map. You will only win if all your opponents got defeated. Since you are the leader, you must not be defeated before your team members."

Ling Lan asked without any hesitation, "Where are my team members?"

Senior Colonel Mi walked to a screen and entered some information inside. Then, he asked Ling Lan to come over. "These are the name list of all the people in the special forces. You can choose five members from the list. You only have half an hour to choose your members. If you can't make a decision within half an hour, the mainframe would randomly choose your members for you."

"I can't choose virtual mecha operators?" Ling Lan frowned. She didn't expect her members to come from the special forces. This was not a piece of good news. The members of the special forces were all unruly and hard to manage. They would not listen to the orders of a recruit. As compared to them, Ling Lan rather used virtual mecha operators. They were at least obedient.

"No. This is General Ling Xiao's order." Senior Colonel Mi shook his head firmly.

Ling Lan had no choice but to look at the name list of the special forces. She tapped a name and the person's information came out.

Flying Blade: Long-range ace operator (7 years): Specialize in sniping. Ultimate technique: Nine Star Congregation (Seven stars)!

Ling Lan thought about something and called Little Four. "Little Four, I need a long-range sniper, three strong close-combat operators, and a balanced mecha operator. It will be good if one of them is an adviser too."

"Understand!" Ling Lan instantly sorted through the name list to find the suitable candidates for Ling Lan.

Senior Colonel Mi hesitated when he saw how serious Ling Lan was. Finally, he asked, "Do you need any suggestions?"

Ling Lan looked up in surprise. Senior Colonel Mi was not someone who would give hints.

"If you can, choose a person that has the word 'blade' in their name." Senior Colonel Mi quickly finished his sentence and scanned his surroundings thereafter. This was his first time doing such a thing so he felt guilty.

Ling Lan knew that Senior Colonel Mi was helping her so thought about it and ordered Little Four, "Find operators that have the word 'blade' in their name. I need a long-range sniper, a close-combat operator, and a balanced mecha operator. You can decide the last two members yourself."

Very soon, the information of five people appeared in front of Ling Lan.

Domineering Blade: Close-combat ace operator (17 years). Ultimate technique: Chain Combo!

Devil Blade: Balanced mecha ace operator (16 years). Ultimate technique: Chain Combo! Additional element: Adviser.

Divine Blade: Long-range ace operator (16 years). Ultimate technique: Instant Fire!

Crazy Warrior: Close-combat ace operator (17 years). Ultimate technique: Total Annihilation!

Ice Spirit: Close combat ace operator (15 years). Ultimate technique: Whirlwind Strike!

Little Four noticed that Ling Lan didn't say anything so he thought that she was dissatisfied with the selection. He quickly explained himself, "Boss, their information looked simple but they have all been ace operators for at least 15 years. They know more techniques than what is written. I also remember you saying that truly powerful operators have simple ultimate technique. However, the power of the techniques will be much greater."

"You remember what I said," Ling Lan complimented Little Four.

She had nothing against the list of people Little Four gave her. She was just curious about Ice Spirit. She felt that this nickname was feminine. Could it be a female ace operator? If she guessed correctly, this would be the first time meeting a female ace operator. Ling Lan got excited. "I will choose these five people."

Chapter 581 - Subduing The Dragon!

Senior Colonel Mi was shocked when he saw the list of people Ling Lan chose. If he didn't know that General Ling Xiao was a fair person, he would have thought that General Ling Xiao chose these people for her. The simpler the information, the stronger the person. If Ling Lan really chose these people herself, she would probably know this point.

Besides the three candidates from the Elite Blade Battle Team, Crazy Warrior was the captain of the second strongest battle team in the special forces. His close-combat skills were almost on par with the captain of the Elite Blade Battle Team.

As for Ice Spirit, she was the captain of the only female special forces battle team, the Ice Frost Team. Although she was not as strong as Domineering Blade and Crazy Warrior in terms of close-combat skills, she was still among the top 5. Most importantly, she was a female. She was not as talented as her male counterparts but she was stronger than them. This was a miracle by itself.

Due to her gender restriction, Ice Spirit had her own battle style. Her style was weird and sinister. According to what Crazy Warrior and Domineering Blade said, they would rather fight against each other than with Ice Spirit.

They could defeat her but her attacks were hard to predict. It required a lot of mental strength to fight with her. After one round of battle, they felt that they had fought 6 rounds with her. It was extremely tiring. This was why Ice Spirit was known as the captain that was the hardest to manage. She made people's head hurt in a battle.

She would go along with the flow in the battle. When her opponents were strong, she would pretend to be weak. When her opponents were weak, she would dominate them. There was no one way to defeat her. She was like sticky-candy that stuck herself on her opponent. Sooner or later, her opponent would lose their mind and would be defeated by her.

Senior Colonel Mi felt that Ice Spirit's ability was within the top 3 in terms of close-combat in the special forces. However, she was a female so her stamina was not as good as a man. During the internal competitions, she would lose energy towards the end of the battle and get defeated by her opponent because of this.

Hence, the three close-combat operators that Ling Lan chose were the strongest in the special forces. Devil Blade and Divine Blade were also among the top in their specialization. Ling Lan had chosen a strong team. However…

Senior Colonel Mi smiled bitterly. Ling Lan's opponent was a team that even he didn't have the confidence to win against——Flying Dragon Special Forces. The Flying Dragon Special Forces only allowed prodigies to enter their team. They focused on quality, not quantity. Only one person would be recruited into that team every few years. This was the team that all the members of the special forces wanted to enter. He didn't expect the Flying Dragon Special Forces to accept General Ling Xiao's invitation and be examiners for a recruit that wanted to form his own battle team.

Hence, when Senior Colonel Mi first heard this news from General Ling Xiao, he was dumbfounded. This was the reason why he let Ling Lan chose her team members from the entire special forces name list.

Since her opponents were frightening, Senior Colonel Mi helped Ling Lan by giving her the hint just now. He hoped that Ling Lan would choose the best people. That way, she still had a chance of winning…

Senior Colonel Mi didn't think that Ling Lan would be able to win this mission. He knew that the members of the Flying Dragon Special Forces were stronger than Domineering Blade. Domineering Blade tried to apply for the Flying Dragon Special Forces before but he had failed the fifth test.

Also, Ling Lan's opponents were people that fought and stayed with each other for many years. Their cooperation would be much better than the temporary team Ling Lan had. Senior Colonel Mi couldn't think of any reason why Ling Lan could win this match…

Could it be that General Ling Xiao didn't want Ling Lan to pass the mission? If that was the case, why did he let her pass the first mission? Senior Colonel Mi couldn't understand General Ling Xiao at all.

Senior Colonel Mi sent out the emergency notice to the five people. Within a few minutes, all five of them came.

A bulky man with a loud voice came first. He called Senior Colonel Mi the moment he came. "Commander, why did you remember me today and even gave me an emergency notice? What happened?"

Senior Colonel Mi held his ears as he replied, "Go and wait at the side quietly. I will tell you once everyone has reached." He introduced this man to Ling Lan in a soft voice, " This is Crazy Warrior, the captain of the Crazy Wind Battle Team. He found it a hassle to choose his nickname so he just used the name of his battle team and gave himself this nickname."

Crazy Warrior saw Senior Colonel Mi talking to the cold-looking young man after he spoke to him so he curiously sized up the young man. He kept his questions to himself and waited patiently at the side.

Ling Lan saw his actions and knew that although Crazy Warrior seemed rash, he had sharp observation skills. He would not act before understanding the situation. He was a mature and logical person. This was a piece of good news to her. Calm and logical people were able to make decisions that would benefit the team the most so they would not be a burden to other people.

After a while, a pretty soldier walked towards them with a straight back. She smiled gently when she saw Senior Colonel Mi and walked towards him slowly. Crazy Warrior saw the soldier and started to pinch his nose uncontrollably. He glanced at Senior Colonel Mi again. He was wondering why Senior Colonel Mi asked this soldier to come too.

The pretty soldier greeted Senior Colonel Mi with a military salute. "Senior Colonel, nice to see you."

Senior Colonel Mi replied back with a military salute. There was another reason why Ice Spirit was known as the hardest captain to manage. She placed a lot of attention on formalities. It was a torture for other members of the special forces to stand beside her because they were used to being casual and relaxed.

Hence, when Ice Spirit saw Crazy Warrior leaning casually against the pillar, she frowned. Her smile instantly disappeared. She didn't reprimand Crazy Warrior because there was an outsider here but she continued to look at Crazy Warrior intensely. Crazy Warrior couldn't help but straighten his body up under her fierce gaze.

Women are so hard to deal with! Crazy Warrior thought in his heart. Why did the commander build a female team within the special forces? That was a bad decision!

Senior Colonel Mi took the chance to introduce Ice Spirit to Ling Lan and told her Ice Spirit's gender. Ling Lan confirmed her guess that Ice Spirit was a lady. However, besides being smaller in size, Ice Spirit didn't look like a woman at all. Ling Lan felt that Luo Lang looked more like a woman as compared to Ice Spirit…

Wait, Luo Lang is a weird person so it was unfair to compare him with Ice Spirit. Ling Lan decided to change the person. She had never seen Li Lanfeng's face before but with the sickly aura that he carried, he would appear more like a woman if he cross-dressed as compared to Ice Spirit too. Even Li Shiyu might look better than Ice Spirit as a woman…

Chapter 582 - Getting To Know Each Other!

"Boss. Actually, you are worse than her," Little Four couldn't take it anymore and mutter softly.

He then felt a malicious aura flying towards him and quickly ran away. No matter what Ling Lan did, he didn't reply to her anymore. Ling Lan knew that Little Four was trying to get away from her scolding.

Little Four's words made Ling Lan scratched her nose uncontrollably. According to what he said, she seemed more like a man as compared to Ice Spirit. Ice Spirit was still recognized as a woman but her companions probably never thought that she was a girl.

Ling Lan felt depressed. Why didn't her companions suspect her at all? She inherited all her mother's beautiful looks… Ling Lan just couldn't find an answer. She pretended that it was because her companions were blind. She would not admit that it was because her aura was too domineering and vicious so no one dared to properly look at her.

At this time, three people came over together. They were all around 30 years old. One of them tried to hide his power but Ling Lan still detected the violent power hiding within his muscular body. Ling Lan retracted her thoughts and became vigilant.

"Commander!" The three people saw Senior Colonel Mi and walked towards him quickly.

"Ling Lan, this is Domineering Blade, Devil Blade, and Divine Blade." Senior Colonel Mi introduced the three people to Ling Lan.

Then, he called Crazy Warrior and Ice Spirit over. He introduced Ling Lan to them. "This is recruit Ling Lan."

When her name was announced, the expressions of all five people changed. Devil Blade even poked Domineering Blade with his elbow.

Ling Lan and Senior Colonel Mi saw their expression. Senior Colonel Mi smiled. "Yes, this is the recruit that hurt Lian Shaojing."

Ice Spirit looked at Ling Lan with satisfaction. She said to Senior Colonel Mi, "Commander, are you planning to recruit Ling Lan into the special forces? If he doesn't have a team yet, I want him."

"My Elite Blade Team needs new blood too. Ice Spirit, you can wait for the next round," Domineering Blade suddenly spoke.

Ice Spirit raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was willing to accept Ling Lan into her team because she didn't want a talented soldier like him to get hurt in the special forces. She knew who recommended Lian Shaojing. That unscrupulous battle team would use all their means to take revenge on this recruit. If he didn't have a team to support him, Ling Lan would have a hard time in the special forces.

However, she didn't expect the strongest battle team, the Elite Blade, to step in. The Elite Blade was a superior team which didn't care about the conflicts between the other teams within the special forces. Why did they decide to step in this time? Did Ling Lan have ties with the Elite Blade Battle Team? Or were they enticed to take him in because of his abilities?

Ice Spirit got more interested in Ling Lan. She didn't give way and replied, "Domineering Blade, you can't snatch all the prodigies that enters the special forces. The Ice Frost Battle Team needs new members to increase our strength too. Why don't you let us have this recruit this time?"

Crazy Warrior saw the arrogant Domineering Blade and Ice Spirit, who didn't like males, fighting over Ling Lan, and his interest perked. He pretended to persuade them, "Domineering Blade, Ice Spirit, it is not good to fight over a recruit. Why not you let Ling Lan enter my team?"

"Shameless!" The man and the woman shouted at him simultaneously. Domineering Blade glared at Crazy Warrior angrily. This person was trying to benefit from their discord!

Sparks flew between the three captains. Senior Colonel Mi noticed that the situation was getting out of hand and quickly coughed. He said, "Ling Lan is not here to join the special forces."

"Huh?" Ice Spirit and Crazy Warrior exclaimed curiously. Devil Blade and Divine Blade exchanged glances with one another. They both had a look of disbelief on their faces. Even the calm Domineering Blade frowned when he heard this.

If this recruit was not here to join the special forces, why did he come to their headquarters? Only official members of the special forces could enter the headquarters. Everyone was puzzled.

"General Ling Xiao specially arranged for him to complete his team formation missions here," Senior Colonel Mi shrugged as he explained. If you have any queries, find the general yourselves.

The five people stared at their commander angrily. Since General Ling Xiao made this arrangement, they had no other opinions. Even if they did, they would not dare to find the general.

Crazy Warrior regained his senses. He said happily, "Are we here to be examiners? If so, I volunteer to be the examiner for his first single mecha combat mission."

Ice Spirit said after him, "The Ice Spirit Battle Team can be in charge of the team mission."

Domineering Blade looked at Senior Colonel Mi. Since he had called three people from his Elites Blade Battle Team over. This matter was not so simple.

As expected, Senior Colonel Mi said, "Ling Lan had completed her single mecha combat mission. She is going to take her team battle mission now."

Ice Spirit and Crazy Warrior were smart people. They immediately realized that something was going on.

"Ling Lan's opponent has been chosen. She now lacks team members," Senior Colonel Mi said seriously.

Devil Blade reacted the quickest. He pointed at Ling Lan and exclaimed, "You called us here to be his team member?"

Senior Colonel Mi nodded.

Crazy Warrior and Ice Spirit looked at Ling Lan intently. What background did this recruit have? With them around, he would definitely pass his team mission. His surname was Ling. Did he have any relationship with General Ling Xiao? They never heard that Ling Xiao had a son.

After Ling Xiao 'died' that year, the military hid the news that Ling Xiao had a child for various reasons. Only the higher authorities knew the secret. After Ling Xiao came back, he sent Ling Lan to the First Men's Military Academy by mistake so he had no choice but to continue hiding the fact that he had a child. Thus, besides Ling Xiao's close friends and the people in the general's manor, no one knew this information.

Domineering Blade and his team members knew Ling Lan's identity but they didn't believe that their general would open the backdoor for his son. They waited for their commander to give them an explanation.

"The opponent that the general chose for Ling Lan is the Flying Dragon Special Forces." The five people were astounded when they heard this. Domineering Blade managed to calm down the fastest. "Why is it them?"

Senior Colonel Mi gave a forced smile. "This is the general's arrangement. Also, all of you were chosen by Ling Lan, not me."

Senior Colonel Mi wanted them to understand that Ling Lan had strong foresight and assessment skills. The people from the Flying Dragon Special Forces were strong. If the five of them didn't listen to Ling Lan, there would be no chance of winning against the Flying Dragon Special Forces team at all. Senior Colonel Mi still hoped that Ling Lan would pass the mission. He also wished that his members would win against the Flying Dragon Special Forces too. Although the Flying Dragon Special Forces was the strongest special forces team, he knew that every captain of the special forces didn't like to lose.

"I will take part in the battle against the Flying Dragon Special Forces team." Crazy Warrior was the first to make a decision. He failed at the 5th task that time and didn't make it into the Flying Dragon Special Forces. He was unwilling to accept his loss so since he had the chance to fight with them, he was extremely excited.

"The Flying Dragon Special Forces? I feel honored to be able to witness their strength." Ice Spirit smiled. When she smiled, her features turned gentle. She appeared more feminine and Ling Lan couldn't help but stare at her.

The three people from the Elite Blade Team had no objections too. They were from the Bladed Special Ops Team so they saw their commander fighting with a member of the Flying Dragon Special Forces before. The commander lost after half an hour. That time, they thought that if they had the chance, they must defeat the Flying Dragon Special Forces at least once and take revenge for their commander. More than ten years had passed and finally, they got this chance.

Senior Colonel Mi nodded in satisfaction when all five people agreed. He reminded them, "This is the time and room number that the general had set. There are still 15 minutes before the battle starts. You all can have a discussion first."

Senior Colonel Mi left the atrium and went to the spectator stand. As a morally upright soldier, he would not overstep his boundary. The Flying Dragon Special Forces was a tough nut to crack. They had to depend on themselves.

Senior Colonel Mi sighed. He knew that even if he stayed back, he would not be able to think of a good way to defeat the Flying Dragon Special Forces. To enter the Flying Dragon Special Forces, the mecha operator had to be close to achieving the status of an imperial operator. This meant that members of the Flying Dragon Special Forces sent out would be at least imperial operators.

Domineering Blade almost reached the imperial operator status but he wouldn't be able to take on six real imperial operators alone. Senior Colonel Mi felt that Ling Lan would lose this battle. He just hoped that he would not be defeated too badly and lose his confidence. He wished that the people from the Flying Dragon Special Forces would not fail Ling Lan based on the results of the battle. If they did, Ling Lan had no chance of passing the mission at all.

Chapter 583 - Reminder!

After Senior Colonel Mi left, the six people were left alone. Crazy Warrior and Ice Spirit looked at Domineering Blade instinctively. Domineering Blade was the captain of the strongest battle team in the special forces. He was someone that everyone looked up to.

Domineering Blade turned to look at Ling Lan. He asked, "What plans do you have?"

Since they were in Ling Lan's team, Ling Lan had the final say. It had been 15 years since he saw this child. He wanted to see if he had grown into a powerful person. This was something he wanted to ascertain.

Ling Lan didn't show any signs of happiness even though her team was filled with powerful members. She raised her eyebrows and said calmly, "Tell me what your ultimate technique is."

Ling Lan's heart dropped too when she heard that her opponent came from the Flying Dragon Special Forces. She was just used to not showing emotions on her face. Hence, Domineering Blade and the other 4 people thought that she didn't know about the Flying Dragon Special Forces when in actual fact, she was familiar with them. She still remembered how they wanted to snatch Li Shiyu away from her.

She appeared indifferent when she heard this news so her team members all felt that she had a big heart. Li Shiyu was also touched by the trust Ling Lan had in him. However, deep inside her, she was exploding with anger. She promised herself that if she had a chance, she would teach the Flying Dragon Special Forces a lesson and let them understand that her men couldn't be touched.

Right now, she had the chance. Ling Lan didn't know if she should be grateful towards her father for giving her this opportunity or should she be angry at him for giving her a difficult challenge again. She didn't like the Flying Dragon Special Forces but she couldn't deny that they were strong. The captains in other special forces were fearful of them too.

The five people knew that this was not the time to hide their abilities so they told Ling Lan their ultimate technique. Ling Lan asked them to wait for a while and went to discuss her plan with Little Four. After many corrections, the plan was finally done. The battle was about to start soon.

Ling Lan sent the plan to her five team members. Crazy Warrior and Ice Spirit waited patiently for her during this time while Devil Blade discussed with Divine Blade and Domineering Blade. The three of them were willing to give Ling Lan the chance to lead them but they had to do something themselves too. That way, if Ling Lan made a mistake in her commanding, they could rectify it.

All five of them got excited when they heard their communicator beeping. They opened the message that was sent to them and read through it. They felt that it was a thorough plan and had more confidence in Ling Lan.

Devil Blade read the plan. He was able to understand the gist of the plan and his eyes shone with anticipation.

"Captain," Devil Blade took a deep breath and called Domineering Blade softly.

"Yes?" Domineering Blade raised his eyebrows.

"If Ling Lan asks you to do anything later during the battle, just do it without any hesitation," Devil Blade said in a serious tone.

Domineering Blade looked at Devil Blade thoughtfully. After a while, he replied, "I understand."

"Divine Blade, you too," Devil Blade reminded his teammate.

"I know. I will do my best." Divine Blade replied nonchalantly. As a sniper, he knew when he should attack and when he shouldn't. He didn't think that Ling Lan would know it better than him. However, he respected Devil Blade so he decided to listen to him. He felt that there was no harm in listening to what Devil Blade said.

Crazy Warrior and Ice Spirit heard what Devil Blade said too. They pondered over his words. No one knew what they were thinking except for themselves.

Ling Lan finished her preparation too.

At the dormitory district of the Flying Dragon Special Forces, the members who received the information from their commander were in a bad mood. One of the members was sleeping in. When he heard the beeping from his communicator, he took a look at it. His eyes widened in surprise. He cursed, "F**k!"

What was wrong with their commander? Why did he ask them to be the examiners for a recruit's mission? He pouted and decided to ignore this assignment.

"Boring." Another member saw the message and ignored it too. He continued to listen to his goddess, Li Yinfei's concert was in the virtual world. Every time he listened to her, he felt calm. His love for Li Yinfei continued to increase.

"I am not going."

"Me too."

"This is so boring."

"…"

The people in the Flying Dragon Special Forces were arrogant and unruly. Sometimes, they would even provoke their commander if they were in a bad mood. Hence, they disregarded the message as they found it boring and useless.

But… this time, things were not as simple.

"F**k. I will give you all three minutes to form a six-person team. If not, everyone will go to the Dark Dragon Valley for training." Their commander's threat rang through the entire dormitory district.

The people from the Flying Dragon Special Forces immediately got nervous when they heard this. The Dark Dragon Valley? No one wanted to go there again. They would die there.

This was a matter of life-and-death. The people in the Flying Dragon Special Forces started taking action and before the three minutes were up, six people with the least experience were pushed out. This was the fastest time the Flying Dragon Special Forces took to complete a task.

The six people were unwilling to take the mission but they were the newest member of the force. Hence, they had no choice but to enter the virtual world and find the room where the battle was going to happen.

The six members from the Flying Dragon Special Forces were furious that they were disturbed and wanted to teach the recruit's team a lesson. They wanted to make sure that he would be unable to form his battle team.

Ling Lan saw that the time of the battle had reached so she entered the room with her five team members.

Ling Lan thought that this would be a huge map but she was wrong. It was just a bigger combat arena. There were no shortcuts for this mission. She could only rely on the strength of her team members and the cooperation within them to win the battle.

Ling Lan frowned slightly. Her brains started working furiously as she thought about what situation would be advantageous towards them. The plan that she proposed mentioned about what they had to do if they entered a combat arena but no one expected it. This mission was to test the intelligence of the team captain so a bigger map would be more appropriate for the mission.

The combat arena was not somewhere the captain could display his intelligence and skills. It depended more on the cooperation between the team members. However, Ling Lan's team was a temporary team. Thus, they felt that the possibility of entering a combat arena map was low so they chose to ignore this option.

General Ling Xiao predicted their thought and purposely went against them. They were caught off their guard.

"Troublesome." Ling Lan sighed. Luckily, she didn't have any lag time when she entered a new map so she could see her surroundings first and made the necessary arrangements. Ling Lan believed that this was the only advantage they had against their opponents.

Ling Lan scanned the environment. Her team members were distributed at different corners of the arena. Her opponent was in the same situation. They were placed alternately. Whoever woke up first would gain the upper hand.

Ling Lan's fingers flew on the control panel. She observed her team members as well as her opponent. The first order was ready to be given out. She just needed to wait for the first member to wake up.

While Ling Lan was watching over her team members, she didn't forget about her opponents. She aimed her beam gun towards the nearest opponent. Once his protection time was over, she would attack him.

The mecha nearest to her looked weird but she could still make out the outline of a balanced mecha. The mechas of the members of the Flying Dragon Special Forces didn't look like mechas from the Federation. They had all been modified suited to their own style.

Ling Lan was on her guard. She had the prodigy mecha engineer, Chang Xinyuan, as her friend so she knew that modified mechas were stronger than normal mechas. The Flying Dragon Special Forces was filled with talented people so their mechas should be stronger.

Ling Lan noticed that her team members didn't modify their mechas at all. She didn't know if they modified their internal parts too or did they not modify their mechas at all.

Unexpectedly, the first person that woke up from the lag time was her team member. It was not Domineering Blade or Crazy Warrior. It was Devil Blade.

Devil Blade must have strong spiritual power. The lag time a person had was related to his or her spiritual power. The stronger the spiritual power, the lesser the lag time. Devil Blade must have gotten his name because he was a 'devil' in a certain aspect. However, Ling Lan didn't expect it to be his spiritual power. No wonder he looked so scrawny. Ling Lan thought that it was his natural physique but now, she knew that it was due to his strong spiritual power affecting his body.

Devil Blade just started to sense his surroundings when he heard a cold voice saying to him, "Long-range beam. Enemy ahead, 300 meters away, 40 degrees to your left."

Devil Blade didn't hesitate and fired his beam gun at the direction that Ling Lan mentioned. He saw a blue mecha glowing with blue lights. His opponent was still under protection.

At this moment, 5 people woke up simultaneously. They were Domineering Blade, Crazy Warrior, and three of their opponents.

Ling Lan changed the direction of her beam gun. She fired a shot the moment the light around her opponent's mecha disappeared.

Chapter 584 - Instantaneous Operation!

A beam of light shot out of Ling Lan's gun. At the same time, Devil Blade pulled his trigger too. One of the opponents that woke up was the one he was looking at.

"Bang! Bang!" The two shots slammed into the mechas and two loud explosions occurred.

The two mechas flew out due to the force of the explosion. There were lights surrounding their mechas. This light came from their beam shield. One of the mechas' beam shield dimmed while the other had a wound on its right shoulder. Black smoke was coming out of the wound. As the mecha flew out, the black smoke formed an arc in the air.

Ling Lan didn't see any effect after she fired her shot so she moved her gun and aimed it at her other opponents. The last batch of people had ended their lag time.

However, she was still too late. Her opponents had activated their beam shield and escaped unharmed from her attacks.

"I am still too slow. If I am just a little faster, I might have succeeded." Ling Lan stared at the mecha that escaped her attack coldly. She pouted her lips with regret. Her hand speed was still lacking. She missed the chance that she saw and wasted her shot.

The mecha operator that got hit slammed his operation table in anger. "Damn, I actually got hit." He felt humiliated to be injured by a nobody.

"Jiao Thirteen, this person must have a strong spiritual power. Be careful of their long-range attacks." Their temporary leader, Lin Five, reminded him.

Everyone knew that people with a stronger spiritual power would wake up earlier in the virtual world. The members in the Flying Dragon Special Forces were all-round talents that excelled in both their spiritual power and physical constitution. They would not take in people who were only good in one of them. Hence, it was normal that they would lose out to the mecha operators talented in their spiritual power and would wake up later than them.

Mecha operators that had a strong spiritual power were usually proficient in long-range attacks. This was because they were weaker physically so close-combat was not suitable for them. A strong physique was needed for close-combat as the body needed to withstand the blows dealt on their mechas. Hence, Lin Five reminded Jiao Thirteen to beware of long-range attacks. He was afraid that Jiao Thirteen would lose his cool and forget about this. If he got defeated because of this, that would really be a humiliation.

Actually, Lin Five was surprised that Jiao Thirteen didn't manage to dodge the attack too. They were all trained to activate their defense mechanism the moment they woke up so that such situations wouldn't happen. By right, he should be able to dodge it.

Lin Five had no time to think. His opponent had already swung his giant sword towards him.

"Bang!" The two swords collided into each other. The people around them almost lost their balance. Two powerful close combat mecha operators were fighting heads on with each other.

"Jiao Thirteen, you activated your beam shield too late. Lousy." The mecha operator that managed to block Devil Blade's shot mocked Jiao Thirteen.

Jiao Thirteen was furious when he heard what his teammate said, "Wei Nine, go to hell. You are the one that is lousy."

Jiao Thirteen was certain that he activated his beam shield the moment he woke up. It was even smoother and faster than his training practice. However, he was still hit. He suspected that the mainframe ignored his controls and gave his opponent the chance to attack him.

It was understandable that Jiao Thirteen felt this way. Ling Lan's shot was instantaneous. The moment the mainframe shut down the protection shield, Ling Lan fired the shot. Hence, the shot was deemed valid. If she had fired the shot a little faster, it would be an invalid shot and wouldn't have hurt Jiao Thirteen.

Of course, if Jiao Thirteen was able to instantaneously activate his beam shield, Ling Lan's attack wouldn't have hit him. However, he couldn't do such operations yet so he was injured.

This was why Devil Blade failed. He was slower than Ling Lan so his opponent managed to block his shot. No one had the time to analyze Ling Lan's attack now so they just thought that she was lucky.

Jiao Thirteen couldn't control his mecha's right hand anymore. If this happened to a normal long-range operator, their combat skills would drop exponentially and they wouldn't be able to continue the battle. But, the Flying Dragon Special Forces didn't allow their members to have any weaknesses. Every one of their mecha operators was trained to use both hands to handle their weapons. If the right hand of their mecha was injured, they could still use their left hand.

But, left-hand attacks would not be as powerful as the right-hand attacks no matter how well they trained both their hands. Jiao Thirteen couldn't display his full ability. How well he managed to use his mecha's left hand depended on how hard he had practiced it.

Jiao Thirteen was furious. He took his beam gun with the mecha's left hand and prepared to shoot Ling Lan. Suddenly, huge energies formed into a whirlwind and attacked him.

Jiao Thirteen got a shock. He instantly jumped more than ten meters away. On the ground where he was standing just now, a deep cut had appeared.

"Whirlwind Strike!" A close-combat mecha rushed towards him with a huge cold weapon in its hand.

"Total Annihilation!" Total Annihilation was a basic attack but the powerful force coming from it gave Jiao Thirteen no chance of retreating. He decisively threw down his beam gun and grabbed his sword. He swung it at the mecha.

"Bang!" Another loud noise echoed throughout the combat arena. The other mechas that were fighting slowed down for a moment.

Ling Lan had been waiting for an opportunity all these while. She quickly pulled her trigger and a light beam shot out of her gun. The sudden light beam shocked her opponent and he immediately maneuvered his mecha to the left.

"Boom!" The light beam still managed to hit Ling Lan's opponent. The beam shield dimmed a little. Ling Lan's opponent got attacked the moment he woke up so he had to activate his beam shield to take on the blow forcefully. Now, he was hit again. His beam shield could only handle one more attack. If he didn't change his energy storage unit, he would be in the same situation as Jiao Thirteen.

Jiao Thirteen's opponent was Crazy Warrior. He laughed excitedly as he faced Jiao Thirteen. Ling Lan's attack at the start allowed him to get near this long-range mecha. If not, he might be the one getting chased around by this mecha.

Close-combat operators hated long-range operators the most. If they met a long-range operator on the battlefield, they needed to close the gap between them before they could fight their opponent. However, long-range operators were not stupid either. They would not give these close-combat mechas the chance to get near them.

In this situation, close-combat operators were at a disadvantage. They had to get near their opponents while they were being attacked by long-range attacks. If they met someone as strong as them, it would mean defeat.

Jiao Thirteen started fighting with Crazy Warrior. The other people saw their opponents and started fighting too.

Devil Blade had a hard time handling his opponent. His opponent was a close-combat operator.

"This operator is as strong as Domineering Blade. I wonder what his rank is among the six people." Devil Blade was a little frustrated. If his opponent was not the strongest, their team would be in a dire state.

Devil Blade knew that if he wanted to turn the situation around, he must widen the distance between them. He operated a balanced mecha but his long-range attacks were better than his close-combat skills. Hence, he wanted to find a way to use his long-range attacks.

He fought too safely at the start and allowed his opponent to close in on him. If he had attacked bolder, he would not be in such a difficult position.

Devil Blade exchanged another blow with his opponent. Suddenly, a short-distanced beam gun appeared in his mecha's left hand. A light beam shot out of the beam gun and enveloped his opponent.

This attack forced his opponent to retreat. Devil Blade took the chance to move away from his opponent.

"I will not allow you to run away!" Once Devil Blade moved, his opponent knew what he was planning to do. His opponent struck a Whirlwind Strike at him and rushed towards him.

Devil Blade saw his opponent chasing him. He gritted his teeth and powered his engine to the maximum. He needed to pull the distance away from his opponent even if it meant overburdening his engine. He continuing shooting his opponent with his beam gun and tried to slow down his opponent.

"Comparing speed with me?" Devil Blade's opponent gave a cold smile when he saw what Devil Blade was doing. His mecha was modified to become faster. He accelerated his engine. A loud roar sounded from his mecha and his mecha's speed increased again. He closed in on Devil Blade.

"Damn, my opponent's mecha has been modified to have a faster speed." Devil Blade was devastated. He was really unlucky today. He failed his sneak attack and met a speed-modified mecha.

Devil Blade was expecting to meet such a mecha since most close-combat mechas would be modified to become faster or stronger. However, he was still affected when he really met the mecha.

At this moment, Ling Lan's voice appeared in the team channel, "Devil Blade, assist Domineering Blade immediately."

Devil Blade was stunned when he heard this order. How was he supposed to go over? He was in a fight with his opponent and couldn't free himself.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared and struck the mecha that was chasing Devil Blade.

Devil Blade's opponent stopped due to the attack. When he wanted to continue chasing Devil Blade, another light appeared and interrupted his operation.

Devil Blade saw Ling Lan helping him but he didn't know if Ling Lan could stop his opponent. However, he turned around decisively and went to help Domineering Blade.

Chapter 585 - Who Is The Recruit?

Devil Blade's opponent felt frustrated when he saw Devil Blade leaving. He wanted to get away from Ling Lan's long-range attacks but Ling Lan would always manage to find some time amidst her battle to stop him from leaving.

"Zhua Fifteen, are you a dumbass? Why can't you subdue your opponent?" The mecha operator scolded the person who was fighting against Ling Lan through their team channel.

"Xu Eleven, if you are so powerful, get out of her attacking range yourself," Zhua Fifteen replied Xu Eleven furiously. They were the most outstanding elites who just entered the Flying Dragon Special Forces. They were arrogant and prideful. None of them could stand it when other people looked down on them.

"He always snipes me whenever he is free. How can I escape? F**k."

"Zhua Fifteen, Xu Eleven, stop quarreling." Lin Five's cold voice sounded in their channel. The two people shut up immediately. However, Lin Five's next sentence left them astounded.

"The two of you will attack him together," Lin Five ordered them.

"Why?" Zhua Fifteen and Xu Eleven shouted in anger simultaneously. They felt as though they were slapped in the face.

"He is stronger than the two of you." Ling Lan mercilessly exposed the fact that the two of them didn't want to accept. Ling Lan was able to find the time and effort to snipe Xu Eleven because Zhua Fifteen was not her match. Xu Eleven was unable to get away from Ling Lan's long-range attacks because he was weaker than her. This was the truth.

Lin Five felt the low morale of his two team members so he continued, "Don't take it too personally. The one that is pestering the two of you must be the strongest operator among them. I have already confirmed that this team is made up of 5 old soldiers and a recruit."

"Find the recruit and kill him if he performed badly." Lin Five's voice echoed in the team channel. He would not let such a person get in through the back door.

"Yes, captain!"

"My opponent is definitely not the recruit. He fights like a maniac and his attacks are crazy. He doesn't care about his own survival as long as he kills me." Jiao Thirteen forcefully received a blow from Crazy Warrior. He thought he could defeat his opponent easily with his left hand but his opponent was stronger than expected. All his attacks had a murderous intent in them. This was not something a recruit would have.

"My opponent has his own close-combat style. He shouldn't be the recruit," another team member said and didn't continue after that.

When he was speaking, his opponent found an opportunity and almost stabbed his cockpit. Drops of cold sweat ran down his back. He didn't dare to talk anymore. His opponent's weird and sinister attacks were unique and unpredictable. He needed to focus.

"Since your opponents are not the recruit, it must be this long-range mecha in front of me," the last team member said in a relaxed tone.

"Ya Ten, is your opponent a strong long-range mecha operator?" Lin Five felt that he got his answer.

"Yes. His long-range attacks are not bad but I can receive them easily." Ya Ten continued replying casually.

"That must be the recruit then. Ya Ten, fight with him seriously and let me see his true potential," Lin Five said in a cold voice. If the recruit was someone that had no skills and just wanted to get in through the back door…

"I know. I have finished my warm up. It is time to fight properly." Ya Ten's expression changed the moment he finished speaking. His eyes turned sharp and his fingers flew on the operation board. His mecha took the beam gun from behind its back.

Divine Blade was still nonchalant at the start. He was the person in control of the fight the entire time so he believed that as long as he didn't make a mistake, he would win against his opponent. However, when he saw his opponent holding two guns, he was shocked. "Isn't this the Ye family's unique technique? Why do the people from the Flying Dragon Special Forces know it too?"

In the Flying Dragon Special Forces, one could learn the secret techniques from certain families. This was why the Flying Dragon Special Forces was the strongest special forces team in the Federation and why everyone wanted to enter this team.

Ya Ten sneered at his opponent and made a sound with his mouth. "Bang!"

Two colorful light beams shot out of the guns. They flew towards Divine Blade, one on the left and one on the right.

"Light-and-Shadow Skim!" Divine Blade immediately dodged the light beams with his fastest speed. Just as he thought that he had escaped, his mecha got hit by something and an explosion occurred.

Divine Blade's beam shield dimmed. The energy of the beam shield had entered the red zone. Divine Blade knew that if he got hit one more time, he would be defeated.

Divine Blade regained his composure. His opponent had been hiding his true abilities from the start and only attacked him now. He got caught by surprise so he was hit.

As the top long-range sniper in the Elite Blade Battle Team, Divine Blade would not be scared so easily. He had a strong mentality so he calmed down quickly.

Ya Ten continued striking after the successful attack. He pulled the trigger furiously and beams continued to shoot at Divine Blade. Divine Blade was prepared this time so he controlled his mecha and dodged the various beams. He remained unharmed after the round of attack ended.

A sound of snapping was heard. Ya Ten's beam gun had used up all its energy. Divine Blade finally got the chance to strike back.

"F**k, this ace operator's beam gun is too lousy." Ya Ten was used to operating an imperial operator's beam gun in real life so he forgot that he was using a lower level weapon.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" It was Divine Blade's turn to attack fervently. The two people had a change in their situation. Ya Ten was the one frantically dodging the beams now.

Devil Blade managed to escape from his opponent due to Ling Lan's help. He rushed towards Domineering Blade. From afar, he could already see that Domineering Blade was in a dire state.

Domineering Blade's opponent was the leader of the Flying Dragon Special Forces team, Lin Five. Lin Five was among the top ten in the Flying Dragon Special Forces in terms of close-combat abilities. He was the elite among the elites. He was made the leader of this temporary team because their commander was afraid that the new members would fail due to their lack of experience.

The moment he started fighting with Domineering Blade, he could sense that Domineering Blade was strong. He felt that his opponent could be ranked within the top 20 in the Flying Dragon Special Forces when it comes to close-combat. This perked up his interest so he gave it his all. He wanted to see how good Domineering Blade was.

Since Lin Five fought with all his might, Domineering Blade was in a bad state. He could only block the blows by Lin Five. He couldn't launch any attacks at all.

Domineering Blade knew that his opponent was actually an imperial operator. If not, as a spurious imperial operator, he would not be beaten up so badly.

Actually, Senior Colonel Mi reminded Domineering Blade that there was an imperial operator among their opponents. He did it because Domineering Blade was the only person that had any possibility of subduing this person. Senior Colonel Mi placed his hopes on Domineering Blade. Hence, he told Domineering Blade about this so that he wouldn't be caught off guard. He hoped that Ling Lan could pass this mission.

Chapter 586 - Reinforcement!

Devil Blade didn't act rashly and joined the fight. He knew that if Domineering Blade couldn't win against his opponent in close-combat, he would be unable to do it too. He couldn't offer much help even if he entered the fight now. At their level, two people might not be able to win against one person. He could even become a burden instead.

However, he still had a chance!

Devil Blade positioned his long-range sniper rifle. This was his specialization: sniping. He was a long-range assassin that aimed to kill his opponent in one shot. This was the only thing he could do to help Domineering Blade.

Devil Blade stared at the two people fighting. He was looking for an opportunity to strike. The time passed slowly. He saw Domineering Blade almost getting defeated a few times. He gritted his teeth and endured the desire in him to shoot. As a professional sniper, he must keep calm at all times and only strike at the right moment.

A few seconds passed…

A few minutes passed…

Drops of sweat fell down from Devil Blade's forehead and onto his entire body. Very soon, his body was drenched in sweat. His protective vest was soaked too.

He couldn't find any loopholes in his opponent. Not one at all! All he saw was Domineering Blade's weakness.

This was the Flying Dragon Special Forces! The powerful and invincible Flying Dragon Special Forces!

Devil Blade started to lose his confidence. Would they really be able to withstand the attacks of the members of the Flying Dragon Special Forces and pass this mission? The fighting spirit in him started dwindling.

"No, I can't give up now. A human would definitely make mistakes. No one is perfect. There will be an opportunity. Yes, there will be!" Devil Blade had a strong mentality so he immediately stabilized his emotions. He regained his composure and continued staring at Lin Five intently.

"Chain Combo!"

Ling Lan's voice appeared on their team channel. Domineering Blade was hesitant. His opponent was dominating him. This was not a good time to execute the Chain Combo. The Chain Combo was an offensive technique.

As Domineering Blade was in a dilemma, Ling Lan's voice sounded again. This time, his voice was colder. Domineering Blade could sense the anger in his voice. The cockpit seemed to turn colder because of Ling Lan's voice.

Domineering Blade remembered Devil Blade asking him to listen to Ling Lan's order no matter what he said. He was a member of Ling Lan's team. It was only right for him to listen to his team leader. Domineering Blade made a decision. He threw away his status as the captain of the Elite Blade Battle Team and followed Ling Lan's order.

"Commander, I want to continue the fight too. However, I need to listen to Ling Lan's order." Although Domineering Blade decided to listen to Ling Lan, he still felt that the Chain Combo would be useless. He felt that his opponent would use this opportunity to defeat him.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Unexpectedly, the Chain Combo managed to block his opponent's attacks.

After the 7th attack, Domineering Blade couldn't continue anymore. He tried to launch his 8th strike but he didn't have the energy to follow through it… he had exhausted himself.

"Bang!" The two giant swords banged into each other again. Both mechas shook from the force…

Opportunity! Devil Blade's eyes lit up. He decisively pulled the trigger and a bullet finally shot out of his sniper rifle. It flew towards Lin Five silently.

Lin Five didn't notice Devil Blade's sneak attack. He could feel that his opponent had reached his limits so he maneuvered his mecha to finish off his opponent. At this moment, he felt a chill running down his spine.

Danger! Lin Five moved his fingers without thinking. He focused the energy from his beam shield onto the waist of his mecha and then moved his mecha back at the fastest speed.

"Bang!"

Although Lin Five reacted quickly, the bullet still brushed against his mecha and exploded. The explosion caused Lin Five's mecha to fly out. The bright beam shield started flickering. This shot used up all the energy of Lin Five's beam shield. One more attack and Lin Five would be defeated.

"Captain!" The commotion shocked the other members of the Flying Dragon Special Forces team. They got nervous when they saw their leader in danger.

Xu Eleven and Zhua Fifteen felt the most agitated. They wanted to bypass Ling Lan and help Lin Five but they couldn't. Ling Lan's beam constantly forced them back. They finally understood what their leader meant when he said that their opponent was stronger than them. They couldn't even escape from her beam attacks.

"Zhua Fifteen." Xu Eleven knew that they couldn't continue like this. He gritted his teeth and called Zhua Fifteen.

"Hurry up and say what you have to say," Zhua Fifteen replied angrily as he dodged Ling Lan's beams.

They entered the Flying Dragon Special Forces at the same time and were competitors all these while. They never worked together. To them, they were already showing mercy if they didn't fight with each other.

"If you want to help our leader, one of us need to escape from our opponent's blockade," Xu Eleven controlled his anger and said patiently.

"Isn't that nonsense?" Zhua Fifteen sneered. He knew this even if Xu Eleven didn't say it. However, which one of them could escape the blockade?

"We need to put down our grudges. If you don't want to lose, listen to me. Let's collaborate this time," Xu Eleven told Zhua Fifteen blatantly.

Zhua Fifteen was unhappy that Xu Eleven took control of the initiative. However, he knew that Xu Eleven was right. They needed to cooperate. If not, their leader would be defeated. The two mechas fighting with their leader would be freed and their team would lose. Zhua Fifteen didn't have the confidence to win against the two mecha operators that defeated their leader.

"Okay. I don't want to listen to you. I just want to help the leader." Zhua Fifteen agreed to collaborate but he was still unable to bow down to Xu Eleven.

"Okay. We will raise two guns and fire at our opponent. You will then go and help the captain while I continue firing." Xu Eleven didn't argue with Zhua Fifteen. Helping their leader was the most important thing now.

"One, two, three! Fire!"

Xu Eleven gave the order and the two mechas pulled out their beam guns together. Each mecha held a gun in each hand and fired furiously at Ling Lan.

Chapter 587 - Dance Of Death!

In an instant, the sky was filled with beams. The beams surrounded Ling Lan entirely. This scene attracted the attention of the other mecha operators. Everyone slowed down their attacks.

It was hard for them to disregard this commotion. Everyone was curious. Would the two operators from the Flying Dragon Special Forces succeed in attacking Ling Lan or would she escape from death?

"Zhua Fifteen, hurry up." Xu Eleven heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the beam shots in the air. He didn't stop shooting but still remembered to remind his teammate to leave.

Xu Eleven felt that their beam projectiles had blocked all paths of the retreat of their opponent. No matter how strong their opponent was, he would be unable to escape from the it unharmed. Even if he did manage to escape, his beam shield would be depleted of energy and that would give him the chance to turn the situation around.

Xu Eleven was a logical person. He didn't feel that his collaboration with Zhua Fifteen would defeat their opponent just like that. For someone that could subdue the two of them easily, their opponent would not be subdued so easily.

Ling Lan controlled her mecha and started dancing among the beam projectiles. It danced gracefully and dodged all the beam shots. It looked as though it was performing a waltz dance for its audience. It was like a dance with Hades, dangerous but beautiful.

"The Dance of Death!" Everyone that saw Ling Lan's dance shouted in astonishment.

The Dance of Death, a [SS] rank technique. This technique was only one rank lower than the [SSS] rank technique, Divine Wind. Only a few extremely talented imperial operators would be able to master this technique. There used to be a rumor within the Federation which said that a few hundred years ago, a god-class operator mentioned that only imperial operators who managed to master the Dance of Death would have the chance to become a god-class operator.

Based on past data, all the mecha operators that advanced to god-class managed to master the Dance of Death. Hence, the Dance of Death became a challenge for imperial operators. No one wanted to give up on the opportunity to become a god-class mecha master.

Xu Eleven felt bitter. He was unable to master the Dance of Death yet. According to what his instructor said, only people who had been through countless life-or-death situations could master this technique. This was what he lacked. The members of the Flying Dragon Special Forces were the elites of the Federation and the pillars of the country. They would not be sent to the battlefield unless there was no other choice.

Only the number one member within each battle team in the Flying Dragon Special Forces managed to master the Dance of Death. The mastery of the Dance of Death was a criterion to become the number one operator within the battle team too. Looking at it this way, the rumor might be true…

Xu Eleven knew that for someone to master this technique, he must have had a lot of experience. He might even be a mecha operator who had been recognized by the Federation. His abilities were on par with the top 5 of each battle team in the Flying Dragon Special Forces. Xu Eleven didn't feel bad about losing to such a person.

At this moment, Ling Lan did a graceful turn in the air and fired a shot with her beam gun. A beam shot penetrated through the beam projectiles around her and flew towards Zhua Fifteen.

Zhua Fifteen felt a strong sense of danger when he was moving. He instantly changed the direction of his mecha and moved towards his left. A beam brushed against his mecha and fired into the ground beside him.

A huge hole appeared on the ground.

Zhua Fifteen felt his hair standing. If he didn't change his direction in time, the beam would hit him. Looking at the force of the beam, his beam shield might be unable to handle it.

Ling Lan suddenly thought of something as she dodged the beam shots. "I must compliment Chang Xinyuan when I go back later. The modified compressed beams are powerful."

Zhua Fifteen looked up and saw Ling Lan dodging the beams. Xu Eleven continued firing shots at Ling Lan just as he promised.

Maybe that shot just now was a forced effort by his opponent. Zhua Fifteen calmed down and wanted to rush towards his leader again.

"Bang!" Another beam flew towards him. Zhua Fifteen dodged it in a flurry. He scolded Xu Eleven uncontrollably, "Xu Eleven, what the hell are you doing? Are you sleeping? What happened to hold the opponent back?" Zhua Fifteen suspected that Xu Eleven wanted to make use of their opponent to hurt him.

"It is the Dance of Death, you idiot," Xu Eleven replied angrily. If he could hold his opponent back, he would have done it long ago. However, he was too weak. He didn't even think that he would be able to block his opponent if Zhua Fifteen really managed to escape the blockade.

The Dance of Death! Zhua Fifteen was stunned. How could it be? He turned back and looked at his opponent again. He saw Ling Lan's mecha looking back at him. Zhua Fifteen could almost see the sneer on his opponent's face. He seemed to be telling him to stay where he was. If not, no mercy would be given to him.

Zhua Fifteen suddenly felt scared. Drops of sweat formed on his hand which was holding the control stick. He didn't have the courage to push the control stick…

"No, I can't be frightened by my opponent. The Dance of Death means nothing. Let's go!" Zhua Fifteen powered up his engine and his mecha flew towards Lin Five. He was not only battling his opponent, but he was also battling his own fear too.

"Bang!" Ling Lan fired a shot again and hit Zhua Fifteen's cockpit.

"Boom!" The mecha exploded and slammed into the ground. Zhua Fifteen paid the price for being rash, scared, and fearful. He was out of the match.

"This is the Flying Dragon Special Forces?" Ling Lan sneered. She didn't expect the members from the Flying Dragon Special Forces to fight individually. There was no cooperation among them at all. If the two mechas she was fighting against collaborated, she would not be able to gain such a huge advantage. Also, the mentality of the members of the Flying Dragon Special Forces team was quite weak. She managed to fool them with her fake Dance of Death.

If she had an opportunity next time, she must ask her father what happened to the Flying Dragon Special Forces. Why were the people inside not as strong as she thought?

In spite of this, Ling Lan didn't underestimate the members of the Flying Dragon Special Forces. Since these people could enter the ultimate dream force of every mecha operator, there must be something special about the Flying Dragon Special Forces. Ling Lan didn't like to make hasty judgments. Underestimation of one's opponents could be detrimental. This was what led to the situation for the Flying Dragon Special Forces team. They came unprepared…